My daughter, who is now 25, is leaving in a little while on her first travel adventure, alone. She will just be gone a few days, and it is just for the weekend.

Her choice of travel is the train, and when she told me, I just knew that she would fall in love with the "wonder" of train travel. Oh she has had train "rides," but just those rides that take welcome you onboard for a scenic trip, and then back to your departure location.

In thinking of the upcoming trip, my mind instantly went back to a time that I not only made a train trip, but one that was traveling from New Jersey, to Oregon. I was about 8 years old, and it took about 6 days, but I will NEVER forget it. My sister and I were traveling with my great grandma, and we loved every minute of it! I soon realized that we were seeing parts of the country that we may never see again, because the train has it's own route, and because we probably wouldn't take the train THAT far again. I was right.

Anyway, for that six days, and although we couldn't afford the sleeping car, my sister and I pretended that we didn't have to think so much about what we didn't have...but rather enjoy what we did, right then. One night we ate in the formal dining room, and that was very special. The rest of the time, it was just snacking and sandwiches...but they too, were the best.At night we wandered often to the "dome car" where we would sit and look up at the night sky. It was gorgeous!!

On this same trip, we saw many animals including antelope, buffalo, deer, and countless birds. One last thing that I cannot help it to remember. The train stopped at the Chicago train station... and it was so amazing! We felt like royalty!! I was one of those kids that always had to check out the rest rooms lol, and at this place, that too was an experience!!In the ladies room, there was a parlor, with antique chairs, sofas, and fixtures and they had three different stalls. Each had a price attached for their use. They ranged from a nickel to a quarter.Knowing I would probably not ever be there again either, I opted to use the one that cost a quarter, just because I wondered why it cost so much to use the bathroom.To my surprise, it had a mirror, a sink, hooks to hang things on..etc! It was well worth the quarter!

Anyway, my daughter is nervous, but I have reassured her that train travel, is one of the best ways to go, and to just sit back and enjoy it!

I've never been on a train. Well, ok, the little one at the local zoo here when I was a kid.

A friend of mine about 20 years back took an Amtrack from Flint MI to Chicago to visit her sister who lived in Chicago at the time. She had her 7 yr old son with her, and I remember when they got back all he wanted to talk about was that train ride. He still remembers it today and says he would love to do it again.

gaphenix

Jan 20 @ 11:39PM

It sounds wonderful!! She'll have good memories that will last a lifetime.